Aslan-Beg Abashidze (1877 – 1924) was a Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 Georgian

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 nobleman and general in the service of the Democratic Republic of Georgia

Democratic Republic of Georgia

The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...

. Like his brother Memed Abashidze

Memed Abashidze

Memed Abashidze was a Georgian politician, writer and public benefactor. An eminent leader of Muslim Georgian community of Adjarians, he was a major proponent of pro-Georgian orientation in Adjara and one of the architects of the region's autonomy within Georgia...

, he was one of the principal champions of pro-Georgian orientation in the largely Muslim region of Adjara

Adjara

Adjara , officially the Autonomous Republic of Adjara , is an autonomous republic of Georgia.Adjara is located in the southwestern corner of Georgia, bordered by Turkey to the south and the eastern end of the Black Sea...

, heavily contested during and immediately after World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. After Soviet takeover of Georgia in 1921, Abashidze fled to Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, where he died in unclear circumstances.

Biography

Born in Batumi

Batumi

Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...

, Aslan-Beg Abashidze was a member of the Muslim branch of the Georgian noble family of Abashidze

Abashidze

Abashidze is a Georgian family and a former princely house. Appearing in the 15th century, they achieved prominence in the Kingdom of Imereti in western Georgia in the late 17th century and branched out in eastern Georgian kingdoms of Kakheti and Kartli as well as the then-Ottoman-held...

, hailing from Adjara. The family continued to be held in high esteem even after the Russian

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

 acquisition of the area from its previous overlord, the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

, in 1878. The Abashidze family were proponents of the reintegration of the Muslim Georgian community of Adjara into the Georgian society.

Aslan-Beg and his elder brother Memed-Beg were involved in the revolutionary turmoil

Russian Revolution of 1905

The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...

 that stuck at the Russian Empire in 1905. Aslan-Beg commanded one of the armed detachments of revolutionaries and left for the Ottoman Empire after the failure of the uprising in 1907. He received military training at Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 and returned to Georgia after the ouster of the Russian monarchy in the 1917 revolution

February Revolution

The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...

. During this period of turmoil, Abashidze fought for the integration of Adjara into a newly independent Georgia and formed a legion of Muslim Georgians, which fought against the Armenian forces in December 1918. He is credited with having written a military song "Aslanuri", popular at that time. He was awarded the rank of general and continued his service in the Georgian ranks until the overthrow of the Georgian republic by the Soviet Russian Red Army

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

in February–March 1921. Abashidze fled to Turkey, where he died (allegedly poisoned to death) in Constantinople in 1924.